Greenhouse Gas Detection Part 1 of 2

[zega74]

You havent covered ICR FTMS 8-)

[bkraz333]

I can't believe I missed this video! Someone else commented on my SEM video about you having a mass spectrometer, so I searched through your old uploads. I really like the soldering iron / PIR absorption spectrometer -- that is completely awesome.

[jeriellsworth]

@bkraz333 I'd like to go back and revisit the gas detection stuff again now that I'm a year smarter. I have several mass spectrometers that need to be revived someday.

[bkraz333]

@jeriellsworth Let me know if you ever want a hand with that project. I learned a lot about creating cheap, decent vacuum for my SEM project, but who knows, maybe you've already learned way more than I did! In any case, playing with a mass spectrometer at home sounds like fun.

[TheSolarmike]

I can't believe you have that stuff. I love it. All you need is a big wood stove to heat your garage. How about an electron microscope? I have a giant alnico magnet from a mass spectrometer that has a flux focusing frustrum if you need one

[shodanxx]

read my posts backward

youtube's comment system is so annoying !!

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or use a broad spectrum IR source and point it at a material of a known and appropriate absorptance then measure the temperature rise of the sample

[shodanxx]

maybe a broad spectrum IR source and multiple detectors with different filters would give a better picture ? (if the detector is expensive then maybe a wheel with different filters covering the sensor as it turns)

what about measuring the actual green house effect ? use a calibrated IR broad spectrum emitter and measure the temperature rise of the gas in a well insulated container, this removes the need for knowning the IR signature of each gas possible gas components

[shodanxx]

you need high portability and low cost

then I think that a device to measure the infrared transmittance of a gas would better fit your application requirements

I'm not sure the accuracy needed to detect a 10 ppm change in atmospheric CO², that would require more research

maybe the device could be a simple infrared led in a single cell detector similar to those used in IR thermometers and thermal imagers

that would give transmittance at specific wavelenghts only [...]

[shodanxx]

that is the best explaination of how a mass spectrometer work

what level is vacuum, is it a lot less than 1 mTorr ?

I often wondered if that kind of apparatus could be fabricated by the determined DIY mad scientist (the kind that lives in a lab and sleeps between the milling machine and the fume hood)

even a crude one similar to the first ones made in the 50s could be very useful

but for your application, since green house gasses by definition are IR absorbing gases and if [...]

[fronkenpoop]

I need to marry you.

[Murple333]

This is getting sent to all my ecogeek friends. While it'd be cooler if a C64 were involved in some way ;) this is good stuff!

[Afrotechmods]

...but I don't understand why a very finely tunable high voltage DC source could not accomplish the same task and would probably be more reliable? Also what are you going to use as a detector on the end? A photoscintillator of sorts or you could also make a sensitive charge detection circuit?

[Afrotechmods]

I'm pretty sure cheap CO2 ppm meters exist and are used in greenhouses, but I don't think that's the point. You just want to make a homemade mass spectrometer don't you :) I like the idea of the rods as filters. However I don't think putting AC through them is the right way to go. Think how fast the particles are moving, and the short distance they are traveling where they would have to be filtered, and it'll become necessary to have a high frequency, high voltage AC source. Which is doable,

[ytmachx]

If you start hanging these things on telephone poles, maybe next time you're welding in the driveway, you'll get a fine. Extremely bad idea!

[jeriellsworth]

@ytmachx Good point. The ones near my house need a "manual override"

[ytmachx]

@jeriellsworth Mine too! LooooL

[papalevies]

Wouldn't a simple and affordable electronic TGS Gas Sensor be more practical than using a mass spectrometer to detect greenhouse gases? Isn't it a bit overkill?

[thepackrat]

Jeri has such cool toys.

:D



[jeriellsworth]

@thepackrat But do I know how to use them?

[Pikkey63]

Nice view the Pet under the sheets :)

[jeriellsworth]

@Pikkey63 Super Pet. :)

[AntiProtonBoy]

Very interesting. How practical would it be to build something that analyses emission spectral lines of ionised gases, as opposed to their mass?

[jossi166]

verry cool, jeri. Doing some research to save the planet?